• Aaron Ross talked yesterday about his transition to safety after playing his whole life as a cornerback:

"I am getting there. I still have some things to learn. I know the defense but I still have technical and just small things that safeties that have been playing the game know that I might not. I have Michael Johnson, (Aaron) Rouse and C.C. (Brown) to teach me. It's been going pretty well."

• Both Michael Johnson (transcript) and Tom Coughlin (transcript) blamed poor gap control for the defense getting gashed by the Philadelphia running game last time they met. The Giants run defense showed a huge improvement last week against the Cowboys, so hopefully they can maintain that and shut down the Eagles tomorrow.
• Corey Webster had his worst game of the season on Sunday, but Bill Sheridan hasn't lost faith in the Giants #1 corner:

"The only thing I say is, as you know, we normally match him up against the best receiver on the other team," Sheridan said. "So inevitably, they are not going to be completely scared from throwing to that guy and he is going to get the ball thrown on him. So I am not surprised or disappointed. I think he would probably be more frustrated than I am, because he thinks he can play better on some of those plays where balls have been caught on him. But he is still as good as anybody we have from a coverage standpoint and I am not concerned about it."

• Fred Robbins posts on his blog about the Giants win over the Cowboys and their upcoming game against the Eagles. He mentions that the Giants have their swagger back after excelling in all 3 phases of the game on Sunday.
• Domenik Hixon was a big part of the reason the Giants Special Teams performed well, returning a key punt for a touchdown. For his efforts, he has been named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. Amazingly, that was the Giants first punt return touchdown since Chad Morton returned one against the Cardinals back in 2005.
• Another key to the Giants performance against the Cowboys was how well the defense responded to the shuffling starting lineups on the defensive line. Osi Umenyiora should especially be commended for taking his demotion in stride, and coming up with a huge fumble recovery. For that, maybe we should thank LaVar Arrington. He was a bust as a free agent for the Giants a few years ago, but if his pep talk really helped Osi get his head right, I'll be forever grateful.
• In perhaps the best news of the week, Chris Snee's knee is "very sore," but not seriously injured. It's still undecided if he will be able to play on Sunday, but it's at least good news that he won't miss significant time. Snee is the best player on the Giants offensive line and they're gonna need him down the stretch.
• The Giants will have revenge on their minds Sunday against the Eagles. The Eagles have beaten the Giants in 3 straight meetings and have handed the Giants their last two playoff losses (of course, a Super Bowl Championship was squeezed in between, so we can't complain too much). I heard a lot about the revenge angle when these teams met a few weeks ago, and the Giants got killed. At this point, I don't care about revenge, I just want the Giants to win the damn game and get back into first place in the NFC East.
• Steve Serby talks about "Hate Bowl II" and looks at the remaining schedules for the Giants and their playoff spot competition. On paper it looks good for the Giants, as long as they can beat the Eagles. That said, "any given Sunday" - which is why I hate looking ahead on the schedule. As the 2007 (and 2008) Mets proved, you can lose tro anyone down the stretch.
• I joked about this in the comments a few days ago, but Plaxico Burress is looking for a work furlough to get him out of prison parttime. I'm extremely happy with our current crop of wide receivers & I know Plax left a bitter taste in a lot of mouths, but I'd be willing to take him back just for this weeks game against the Eagles & let him run a few plays. He always dominated the Eagles, and the Super Bowl run showed that he really doesn't need to practice. I'm only half-joking about this.
• Finally, the NY Times 5th Down Blog continues its look at the 10 greatest Giants moments at Giants Stadium with their 41-0 NFC Championship Game beatdown of the Minnesota Vikings. It's really a shame they cancelled the Super Bowl that year, I really think after that performance the Giants would have absolutely destroyed the Ravens. I mean, Trent Dilfer...c'mon!

Kenny Phillips tries to put a finger on the Giants woes on his official blog, and for the most part he sounds just like any of us:

"I know this is a good team, I know how hard these guys work and how much they want to win, but for some reason it’s not showing and that’s the most frustrating thing. Sometimes I have to change the channel."

I don't like to blame injuries, but the defense hasn't been the same since Kenny went down. He looked like he was about to become a star this season, and his replacements have been nothing short of awful.  Check out his blog post for an update on his rehab status.

Chris Canty talked about preparing for his first game against his former team this weekend (Canty missed the Giants first game against the Cowboys due to injury), and whether his knowledge of the Cowboys will give the Giants any advantages

"There is something special about this game. It’s an opportunity for us to compete as a football team. It’s a division game. This means a lot for us and we have taken notice of that. We are prepared as such and we are going to give ourselves the best opportunity to be successful on Sunday... I think both of teams know each other very well. I don’t think it has a lot to do with me at all. These teams play each other twice a year, a couple of years back where the Giants and Cowboys played each other three times a year, including the playoff game. These football teams know each other very well. There are not going to be a lot of surprises. Like I said, it is what it is."

Tom Coughlin sort of addressed the speculation that Osi Umenyiora has been demoted and won't be starting this weekend:

Q: There has been talk of Osi coming out on running downs - playing only passing downs. What can you tell us about that?

A: He will play run downs, too.

Q: Will he start?

A: We'll have to see on that. We will play everybody.

• Eli Manning certainly seems to think so:

"I think we are a playoff team. We have the talent and the guys that can definitely get there. We’re not in the exact position that you want to be in right now, but if we’re going to make the playoffs, we’re going to have to get hot, and if we go into the playoffs, we’re going to be a team that’s been playing real well and coming off a hot streak and playing our best football."

• Gary Myers, on the other hand, is pretty sure they aren't:

"There's no indication they have it in them to reach down deep, show some of the old Giants pride and put this season back together. That means by the time they absorb the one-two punch from the Cowboys and Eagles in back-to-back home games, they will be knocked out of the NFC East race and hanging on the ropes in the wild-card fight."

• Mike Vaccaro thinks that Eli Manning needs to carry the Giants if they intend on making a playoff run, a sentiment that is echoed by Josh Alper of NBC Sports. Alper thinks the Giants need to come out like they have nothing to lose, "like a boxer behind on points in the 11th." Alper also says that "Manning's the best player on the team, so let him loose." Can't say I disagree with that.
• Speaking of Manning, he discussed his injury and dismissed it as a cause of his less than stellar play on Thanksgiving:

"I am a guy who doesn’t really like to be in the training room and try to avoid it as much as possible. I only go there when I truly need it, so that has probably been the biggest annoyance. Trying to deal with it, I am not thinking about it when I’m playing the games. I am not thinking about it and worried about it."

• Justin Tuck talked about the loss of Antonio Pierce, going up against Flozell Adams, and why he's optimistic this week.
• Forget about Charlie Weis as a potential replacement for Kevin Gilbride should he get a head coaching job elsewhere or get fired by the Giants (is there anyone who has a wider perception gap between his supporters and his detractors than Gilbride?) I actually have to say I'm a little disappointed in this news - Weis may not have been a great college coach, but offense was never his problem at Notre Dame. I think he's one of the best offensive minds in the game, and while I don't think Gilbride is terrible, I think Weis would definitely be an improvement.
  
• Finally, the NY Times 5th Down Blog continues its countdown of the Top 10 Giants moments at Giants Stadium with George Martin's slow motion interception return. I am too young to remember that play, but I've seen the video many times and always get a kick out of it. It's a good thing John Elway was one of the greatest QB's of all-time, because he definitely wasn't going to make it as a defensive player with tackling skills like that.

I've remained pretty optimistic about the Giants all season, thinking there was no way that the team which looked so good in going 5-0 could really be as bad as they looked against the Saints and the Eagles. Tough losses to the Cardinals and Chargers didn't even bother me as much as they otherwise would, because the Giants easily could have won those games. But the loss to the Broncos is the worst yet, and has me doubting whether the Giants are even a playoff team, let alone a Super Bowl team. The Giants have 10 days until a make or break game against the Cowboys with their season quite literally on the line.

Tom Coughlin was not happy with the loss. He seems most disappointed in the Giants inability to control the running game on both sides of the ball:

"As I said last night, football to me is that you have to run the ball and stop the run. Those are the first things you do have to do to put yourself in a position to be able to take advantage of the various aspects of your plans and your talent. When you don’t do that you’re really putting a magnifying glass on some of these other aspects of the game. It’s not surprising sometimes that it doesn’t come out well. As I said last night, we did not stop the run. We didn’t give ourselves opportunities to run the ball because there really wasn’t much continuity. We didn’t have a lot of opportunities. We didn’t make a lot of first downs, we didn’t do a lot of the things that we knew were the reasons that people had defeated Denver in the last four games were because of, we didn’t do those things."

Shaun O'Hara thinks the problem is that the Giants aren't running the ball enough:

"The only way, in my eyes, to get back on track is to keep doing it and do it more. I think, as offensive linemen, we are always going to complain that we aren’t running the football enough. That is kind of our M.O. We want to run the ball more. Quarterbacks and receivers, we are going to have discussions with them every single day, they want to throw it, we want to run it. That is a constant battle. I am not going to be happy until we have 35-40 carries in a game."

On the defensive side of the ball, Barry Cofield thinks the problem is individual responsibility, not the coaching scheme:

"I’m a guy who always leans towards individual accountability. Guys just have to make plays. Guys have to be in their gaps. There were instances last night where guys weren’t where they were supposed to be. Guys weren’t necessarily making the plays on the ball that they should have. Guys weren’t beating their guys upfront."

Continue reading this post »

Some short week notes from the transcripts page:

• Tom Coughlin answers some injury questions and basically says he has no idea what's wrong with the defense:

"People keep asking me for an answer.  I wish I had an answer.  If I had an answer, it would be the end of it.  We have not been able to stop those consistent pass drives late in the game.  Someone asked me, I think yesterday, about whether there was fatigue involved.  I don’t see that at all.  You are talking about 50 degrees at this time of year.  I just don’t see that.  We have given up some pass plays, obviously.  We have given up some opportunities.  When we could have gotten off the field, we didn’t.  We had some third and longs that they converted, too.  Keep working."

• Justin Tuck talked about some of the Giants 4th quarter woes. He also had possibly the line of the year, when asked about Thanksgiving dinner plans:

"I eat everyday. I am not worried about necessarily eating on Thanksgiving Day. Hopefully I get to eat some quarterbacks."

Other Stuff

• Recently signed defensive back D.J. Johnson, who spent much of the year on the Broncos practice squad, has apparently been trying to help the Giants get ready for Thursdays game. Remember when some Giants fans were complaining after Andre Woodson got signed to the 'Skins practice squad? The shoe's on the other foot, now. (And oh, by the way: Andre Woodson was recently cut)
• The Philadelphia man who was accused of sending threatening letters to Tom Coughlin has plead guilty. I will use up all of my willpower for the day and not make a disparaging remark about the city of Philadelphia, and just say that this is certainly a strange story. 
• The NY Times 5th Down Blog continues its countdown of the Top 10 Moments in Giants Stadium History with the Giants week 17 loss to the Patriots in 2007. I was at that game, and while it almost certainly wouldn't have made the top 10 if it weren't for what the Giants accomplished over the ensuing month, it was really an incredible game and a playoff atmosphere. Way better than the actual playoff game I went to (2005 vs. the Panthers). My two best experiences at Giants Stadium both came during that 2007 season, and I'll be curious to see if the other one makes the top 5.
  
• Finally - Happy (almost) Thanksgiving everyone! Ed giving me a chance to help out on the front page and the reception from the awesome BBV community is definitely one of the things I'm thankful for this year.

Ed posted about Antonio Pierce's injury last night, and it's definitely not good news. Mike Garafalo reports a little more about Pierce's contract situation and that of replacement Chase Blackburn. Also from MG comes a preview of the game against the Falcons.

• Speaking of Giants' linebackers, Giants' rookie Clint Sintim is leaning on "one cool dude," aka Danny Clark. Whether that's a good thing or not I'll leave up to you.
• Giants legend (and my all-time favorite player) Michael Strahan was brought into practice yesterday to give the Giants a surprise pep talk. According to Strahan:

"They're as talented as any team in the league," he said. "It's just a matter of believing in their talent and the talent of the guy next to them. If they do that, they'll be just fine."

• The general theme out there seems to be that the next seven days will define the Giants season. It's certainly hard to say that's wrong right now.
• The Giants are going to be looking for "big play opportunities" against the Falcons. That's quite alright with me. 
• Hakeem Nicks has made a list of impact rookie wide receivers. I was a little skeptical of the Nicks pick back in April, but I have been pleasantly surprised so far - next to Steve Smith he's been my favorite player to watch so far this year, and the two of them have a bright future for the Giants.
  

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

Hakeem Nicks could be looking at a big day against the Falcons struggling secondary. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

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The Giants get back to action on Sunday after an excruciatingly long bye week on the heels of four straight losses. While the Giants were resting up, our fantasy teams were chugging along without them (and mine suffered its worst loss of the season - I need you Steve Smith!). What can we expect from them this weekend? Here's some advice:

Start

Brandon Jacobs, RB, NYG - Fully rested after the bye week and coming off four straight good performances only limited by the Giants not giving him the ball, I think the Juggernaut breaks free this weekend. The Falcons have the #25 ranked run defense, so there should be some holes for Jacobs to exploit. The only people that will stop Jacobs this Sunday are the Giants coaches.

Steve Smith, WR, NYG - Did you know Smith is the #6 receiver in points-per-receptions leagues and only drops to #10 in non p.p.r. leagues? Even in his "quiet" weeks he's been a solid option. The Falcons have the 28th ranked pass defense, so I expect another good week from Mr. 3rd Down.

Hakeem Nicks, WR, NYG - After scoring in four straight games, Nicks has quited down a bit, but everytime he touches the ball he's a threat to take it to the house. Call it a gut feeling, but against a bad pass defense I think the Giants will be able to spread the ball around a bit, and I think Nicks could actually have a better game than Smith.

Tony Gonzalez, TE, ATL - Maybe the best tight end in NFL history, the big guy's still got it. 44 catches for 501 yards and 4 TD's through 9 games - he's no longer the best TE in the league, but he's still in the top 10 and should be starting in almost any league.

Jason Snelling, RB, ATL - Just because the Giants shut down LaDanian Tomlinson's corpse doesn't mean I'm ready to trust their run D. They always seem to struggle against backup running backs (Tashard Choice & the Eagles fullback are just two of the more recent examples), so Snelling scares me a little bit.

Roddy White, WR, ATL - He's one of the best fantasy receivers in the league, and has really only had two subpar performances this year. He's coming off of two straight games without a TD, and I wouldn't be shocked if that changed against the Giants secondary.

Eli Manning, QB, NYG - I debated this one a bit. On the one hand, Eli had three terrible performances in a row before a very good game against the Chargers. On the other hand, he looked great against the Chargers, has had two weeks to rest up his foot, and is going against the #28 pass D in the league. Ultimately I felt like the pros outweighed the cons, so I think he'd be a good bet to start and at least have a passable game this Sunday.

Sit

Matt Ryan, QB, ATL - Ryan has thrown an interception in his last 6 games, and at least two INT's in 4 of those games. He definitely seems to have regressed after his brilliant rookie year and a strong start to this season. The Giants pass D is still statistically one of the best in the league (I know: lies, damn lies, and statistics), and looked a bit better without CC Brown against the Chargers (until the final drive, anyway). They're also should be getting Aaron Ross back. Matty Ice still has a great future ahead of him, but I don't think you'll be able to tell this weekend.

Ahmad Bradhsaw, RB, NYG - He's been pretty awful lately, averaging under 3.0 YPC over the past three games. I don't trust his ankle right now, and until he proves on the field that he's healthy and can make the cuts that make him so effective, I wouldn't start him.

Michael Jenkins, WR, ATL - He hasn't caught a TD all year and has been flat-out mediocre at best. That could change this weekend, but I wouldn't bank on it.

The 2007 Giants and Cowboys will both tell you that Pro Bowl balloting is a meaningless honor, but it's pretty funny that the only Giant who is currently leading his position in voting is punter Jeff Feagles, who has not been having his best season, to say the least. The Giants are a 5-4 team desperately clinging to their playoff hopes, so they shouldn't do as well as they did in Pro Bowl voting last year, but I have to think at least one of Chris Snee, Shaun O'Hara, or Justin Tuck deserves to be a starter.

Giants Enjoy Bye Week

With the Eagles and Cowboys losing and the Michael Turner injury, the Giants had their best Sunday in over a month. Ralph Vachianno recaps.

The bye also helped the Giants get refreshed, with reports that practice this week has been sharp.

Perhaps most importantly, Justin Tuck and Eli Manning were able to use the bye week to heal up some of their injuries. The Giants need those two as healthy as they can be if they want to contend for the Super Bowl this year.

Other Notes

• The Giants are lodging a complaint about having to travel to Denver to play on Thanksgiving on a shortened week. 
• The NY Times 5th Down Blog continues its countdown of the top Giants moments at Giants Stadium with Tiki Barber's 206-yard game against the Redskins the Sunday after Wellington Mara passed away.